SPRING IS HERE!

Adam left on his deployment to Afghanistan just two weeks after the first day of Autumn.  Here we are welcoming Spring - the days are getting longer and the weather has finally started to warm.  I received a phone call from our Family Readiness Officer with news that an "Advance Party" of Marines will be back on US soil in early April.  I don't know how many Marines are in this "Advance Party," nor do I know if Adam will be among them. I am eager to hear from Adam and hope he will give me his own dates soon. I just can't wait to get those tickets and pack my bags. Regardless of when and what I hear from Adam, this is still excellent news. The Marines of the Third Battalion Fourth Marines are packing up their belongings and planning to transfer operations to a new battalion so they can make their trip home. Just saying it makes me smile and think about the big hugs I'll get every day from Adam when he's back home in New Rochelle.

In my eternal search for information, I found some great sites to pass on to you, as well as many pictures. 

Terminal Lance is a comic strip created in January 2010 by "Lance Corporal Maximilian Uriarte, USMC. The idea behind Terminal Lance is to poke fun at the Marine Corps much like Gunny Wolf’s old Sempertoons, but with an emphasis on the grunt Lance Corporal’s point of view."  I never realized how difficult it is to be promoted from Lance Corporal (that's Adam's rank) to Corporal, but apparently this is the case and it has inspired Max. The comics are cute, but I especially like reading the commentary below the strip. It's quite an education. In a Military Times forum, there was quite a lively discussion among others in the military about Terminal Lance. It is just fascinating to me that in today's world of constant and easy communication channels, there is an abundance of real-time opinions and discussions to be aired and viewed by all of us, and that includes so many in the military. I am confident that Terminal Lance will become regular reading for Adam and his buddies.

The Washington Post wrote an article entitled "At Afghan outpost, Marines gone rogue or leading the fight against counterinsurgency?"    It is about Delaram and the base on which Adam was stationed for the first few months of his deployment.

And now, the pictures---

 This is U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Ryan Benson, with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment as he meets residents before a meeting in Delaram, Afghanistan, Jan. 9, 2010.  This is the Capt. Benson who posted on Facebook (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Albert F. Hunt)


An Afghan boy in Now Zad, Afghanistan, watches while U.S. Marines with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment pass by Jan. 19, 2010. The Marines are visiting shops to develop relationships with their owners. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Daniel M. Moman

U.S. Marines with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment patrol a town in the Farah province of Afghanistan Jan. 26, 2010 as part of Operation Swift Change, during which Marines clear the area of Taliban forces. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Albert F. Hunt)

The following pictures are of the U.S. Marines assigned to India Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment taken during their operation in the Buji Bhast pass.

 

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Chad J. Pulliam

 

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Albert F. Hunt

 U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Chad J. Pulliam

 The construction of tents and shelters at Buji (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Albert F. Hunt)

A U.S. Marine watches the horizon during a patrol through the Buji Bast Pass in Golestan, Afghanistan. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Albert F. Hunt)

Area residents watch as U.S. Marines patrol through town (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Albert F. Hunt

Have a great weekend and enjoy our good weather. I hope my next post has reports of a phone call and some dates.